Texting and driving is 2MTH (too much to handle)

So the New Mexico Legislature's Senate Judiciary Committee doesn't see a need to ban people from texting while driving.

WTH? UR kidding me? OMG!

For folks not hip to texting shorthand, WTH means "What the heck?" or some variation of it; UR means "Are you ...?" and OMG stands for "Oh, my God!"

It will remain legal to send texts, emails, Facebook posts, Instagram photos, play games on an app and update your fantasy football lineup from your cell phone while driving on New Mexico's roads. That's because the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to table Senate Bill 17, sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, that would have banned such activities while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

We are also disappointed to learn that our own legislator -- Sen. Ron Griggs, R-Alamogordo -- was one of five senators on the committee to vote in favor of tabling the distracted driving bill, which essentially kills any chance of it advancing further this year.

It's BAU (business as usual) in the state Legislature.

New Mexico is one of six states that do not have distracted driving laws in place, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures' website. Although some New Mexico legislators have tried to push distracted driving bills for several years, it never progressed far.

Those municipalities already have their own distracted driving ordinances on the books.

We don't think the House Judiciary Committee's action Thursday will sit well with the family of Clarence G. Boulanger, of Alamogordo, who was killed Jan. 5, 2012, after he was struck and killed by pickup truck while pulling out of the Kmart parking lot and attempting to cross White Sands Boulevard. The truck was driven by New Mexico State University men's basketball player and former Tularosa High School standout Emery Coleman II, who police say was using a cell phone to send a text message at the time of the accident.

Coleman has been charged with felony third-degree homicide by vehicle. According to Magistrate Court records, the then-18-year-old Coleman texted "Would you kiss me on the neck" [sic] to a phone number in the 505 area code at the time of the accident.

Distracted driving has become such a problem in New Mexico and elsewhere that it may surpass another bugaboo -- drunken driving. While we won't ever say drunken driving is safer than texting while driving, at least drunken drivers keep their eyes on the road.

Opponents of the bill say they don't want to give police another reason to stop drivers. They cite an existing state law against careless driving that, they say, applies to distracted drivers.

LOLHWS! (Laughing out loud hysterically without smiling)

Have our legislators not heard of hands-free devices? Senate Democratic Leader Michael Sanchez, a lawyer from Belen, was quoted in a Thursday story saying, "I have a problem letting police officers see what I'm texting."

To Sanchez we say, "As long as you're not texting while driving -- and you don't get into an accident -- you shouldn't have anything to worry about."

BCOT (Be careful out there)!

The bill would not have given police wanton discretion in stopping drivers. How many times have you witnessed other drivers holding their hand up to their head or looking downward for long periods of time while driving? Chances are pretty good they're not scratching their head or looking at their speedometer.

Texting while driving is a fairly easy activity to spot, even for folks like us who are not trained to look for such things.

Bottom line: People shouldn't require legislation to prevent them from doing something harmful. Common sense should dictate that texting while driving isn't a good idea. It takes your attention from where it should be -- on the road.

If a text message is that important, pull off to the side of the road or wait until you arrive at your destination and TCOB (Take care of business). Getting into an accident -- and injuring or killing yourself or someone else -- just isn't worth it.